Chapter 10

Maggie awoke the next morning to the sound of the alarm clock accompanied by Justin's snoring. She rolled over and shut the alarm off before throwing a pillow over Justin's head to quiet the noise. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. They stung from all the crying she'd done the night before, and she figured they'd be all red with huge bags underneath them. "That won't be obvious or anything," she grumbled to herself as she walked towards the bathroom.

Justin woke up a few minutes later noticing a pillow over his face. "That Maggie sure is a crazy sleeper," he thought to himself as he got up and headed towards the bathroom before he noticed the shower running already, meaning Maggie was in it. He went back and laid on the bed while flipping on the television. He flipped through several stations before settling on a morning news show.

***************

Justin looked up from the tv when he heard the bathroom door open a few minutes later. The sight he saw shocked him beyond words. Maggie emerged from the bathroom with only an oversized towel covering her. Her wet, curly hair was going crazy all over her head as a few stray drops of water would fall from her hair and drip down to her shoulder or arm. Justin sat there and watched the droplets slide down her arms slowly. He swallowed hard and tried to take a deep breath, but found it impossible.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Justin, I figured you'd still be asleep, I just came out to get some clothes," Maggie explained pulling the towel tighter around her body. "It..it's..okay," Justin said, his voice coming out hoarse. He couldn't bring himself to look away from her. Maggie noticed the way he seemed to be staring at her, so she took a deep breath and cleared her throat before rushing to the closet and pulling out the first thing she could find. "I'll be done in just a few minutes, Justin," she said quickly before running into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

***********

When she was in the safety of the bathroom, Maggie broke down into tears once again. "How can you be so stupid to forget your clothes in the room? As if things aren't already awkward enough between you two," she whispered to herself as she washed her face again to rid it of the tears.

Maggie emerged from the bathroom again a few minutes later, this time wearing black dress pants and a dark gray sweater. "It's all yours," she said motioning towards the bathroom as she rummaged through her makeup bag.

Justin got up from the bed quickly and walked over to her. "Maggie," he said while she still had her head down, acting like she had something that was impossible to find in her bag. "Maggie, look at me," he said softly. She looked up to him slowly, an embarassed blush covering her cheeks. He laughed lightly at her. "Maggie, don't be embarassed, it wasn't a big deal. It's not like I've never seen you nak-," he said as he cleared his throat to try to cover up his slip-up. "We're adults, Maggie, come on, don't worry about it," he said looking at her seriously. She smiled wearily at him. "Alright," she said quietly as she looked back down to her bag.

He lifted her chin up slowly to make her look at him. "And I wanted to apologize for last night. I don't know what came over me. I guess I just got caught up in the moment," he said, as an embarassed blush came over his cheeks now, but he still stayed serious. "It's okay Justin, it happens to all of us," Maggie said nodding. "Okay, I just wanted to get that cleared up," he said smiling at her. "You'd better get in that shower, we're gonna be late," Maggie replied pushing him towards the bathroom.

**************

After what seemed like the longest morning of their lives, Maggie and Justin finally made it to the studio. Justin went into the recording booth to warm up his voice as Maggie stayed in the control room and talked to Mr.Stevens. "Mr.Stevens, I'm sorry if this is really out of line, because I know it's your song, but I am the producer, so I thought I'd just make a suggestion, and if you don't like it, it's okay," Maggie rambled on and on. "Maggie, spit it out!" Mr.Stevens said laughing at her. "I was thinking we should maybe change that song, 'When I Saw You' to a slow song. I think it would be so much more meaningful if it was slower, and I know Justin would do an amazing job at it," she said, looking up to Mr.Stevens for approval. He thought for a minute before speaking. "That's not a bad idea, let's give it a try," he said as they worked on slowing the tempo down.

**************

"Okay Justin, change of plans," Maggie said as she and Mr.Stevens walked into the recording booth. "Maggie had the idea to change 'When I Saw You' to a slower tempo, so we're going to try it out. Does that sound okay with you?" Mr.Stevens asked. "Yeah, sure," Justin replied looking over the music. "Now as a slower song, like Maggie said, it will be much more meaningful, so you're going to need alot of feeling in it. Like you just saw the love of your life for the first time, and you know she's the one you want to be with forever. Think you can do it?" Mr.Stevens asked. If he only knew how many of those feelings Justin had experienced the first time he saw Maggie.

Justin looked down to his hands before looking up at Maggie. She stood there looking down to her hands nervously, also thinking about the first time she'd ever seen Justin. "Yeah, I can do that," he whispered as Maggie looked up into his eyes. "Great, let's get started," Mr.Stevens said heading back to the control room.

Maggie swallowed hard before speaking. "Good luck Justin," she said sweetly, smiling shyly at him. He smiled back at her, "Thanks," he replied. She patted his hand quickly and gave him another reassuring smile before turning around and walking back to the control room.

"Okay Justin, let's go," Mr.Stevens said as Justin reached for the headphones and put them on. A million memories flashed through Justin's head as he remembered the first time he ever saw Maggie. It was in the hospital in Chicago. He smiled as he remembered running into her. And how he helped her up, and when he looked into her eyes for the first time. Her bright green eyes that had always mesmerized him; they still did. "Make this the best damn song you've ever sung, Justin," he told himself as the music started.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Soft, heavenly eyes gazed into me
Transcending space and time
And I was rendered still
There were no words for me to find at all
As I stood there beside myself
I could see you and no one else

When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe, I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be, I'd never be the same

Only once in a lifetime love rushes in
Changing you with the tide
And dawn's ribbon of light
Bursts through the dark
Wakening you inside
And I thought it was all untrue
Until there all at once I knew

When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe, I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be the same

With no beginning and
Without an end
You are the one for me
It's evident
And your eyes told me so
Your eyes let me know...

When I saw you
When I saw you
I could not breathe, I fell so deep
When I saw you
When I saw you
I'd never be, I'd never be the same

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~When I Saw You*~*Mariah Carey*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Justin took a deep breath as he finished the song and slipped the headphones off. All the recording crew stood in the control room in shock. "Justin, that was amazing," Mr.Stevens finally commented after he turned the intercom to the recording booth on. "Was it really okay?" Justin asked unsure. "I know I'm not your manager or producer, but I'd make that the first single, it's incredible," Mr.Stevens replied. Justin was glad he had Mr.Stevens' approval, but he was really only looking for Maggie's. He felt like he was singing the song to her in a way.

Maggie stood there in stunned amazement and shock. The words to the song were so incredible, and the intense stare that Justin had given her the whole time he'd sung the song were almost too much for her. "Maggie? What did you think?" Justin asked as he walked into the control room. People were rushing around all around them, preparing for the next song to record. Maggie and Justin stood there in the middle of the chaos, just staring into each other's eyes.

Maggie took a shaky deep breath before answering. "Justin, that was amazing," she said softly and dreamily. He smiled a half-smile at her, "Did you really think it was okay?" he asked unsure. "Yes," she nodded. "You're a genius to slow down the tempo," he praised her. "I just thought it would make it more meaningful," she replied, beginning to come out of her daze. "It was definetly more meaningful to me," Justin said softly.

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